The Old Globe invites your participation and coverage as Globe for All celebrates five years of making theatre matter to more people! This talented company of professional actors will tour William Shakespeare’s most popular comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, throughout San Diego County to a wide variety of economically, geographically, and culturally diverse communities. The free Globe for All Tour begins Tuesday, October 30 and will visit 17 Community Partner venues new and old, from Oceanside to the South Bay, from Linda Vista to the Imperial Valley. Patricia McGregor returns to direct her second Globe for All Tour, following Measure for Measure in 2016. She recently received critical acclaim for her direction of the world premiere of Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole (People’s Light, Geffen Playhouse) and Skeleton Crew (Studio Theatre, Geffen Playhouse).

Audiences across San Diego County will fall under this midsummer night’s spell filled with magic, humor, music, and magnificent poetry. A dream unfolds in an enchanted forest where fairies play tricks on unsuspecting lovers, and bumbling actors are transformed beyond their wildest imaginings. Add to this a secret potion that grants love at first sight, and anything can—and does—happen!

“We are delighted to present Shakespeare’s masterpiece A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 17 Community Partner venues this year. Our community connections have deepened considerably since we launched Globe for All five years ago, and we value these crucial and rewarding partnerships,” said Old Globe Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “Globe for All is inspired by two simple but deep beliefs: that theatre is an art form for everyone, and that as the flagship arts institution of San Diego, The Old Globe should be accessible to the entire community. Taking our show on the road each year to new corners of our region advances our values of equity, inclusion, access, and, of course, excellence. This year’s tour embodies these values vividly, and our close friend Patricia McGregor’s beautiful production of Midsummer will bring joy, fun, and the special magic of Shakespeare to our neighbors around San Diego County.”

Community Partners will enjoy this unique experience of A Midsummer Night’s Dream up close and personal, presented in non-traditional venues within their own neighborhoods. New partners this year include Cal State San Marcos, Oceanside Public Library, and Sweetwater High School/A Reason to Survive (A.R.T.S.). Globe for All will return to familiar haunts including San Diego Rescue Mission; Veterans Village of San Diego; Fourth District Seniors Resource Center; San Diego Public Library branches including the Central Library, City Heights/Weingart Branch Library/SAY San Diego, and Otay Mesa-Nestor Branch Library; Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility; Chaldean Middle Eastern Social Services/San Diego County Library – El Cajon Branch Library; South Bay Community Services/Chula Vista Promise Neighborhood; Father Joe’s Villages; Naval Base San Diego; Lemon Grove Academy/Lemon Grove Historical Society/San Diego County Library – Lemon Grove Branch Library; California State Prison, Centinela; and San Diego Military Family Collaborative/Social Advocates for Youth (SAY) San Diego’s Serra Real Connections Healthy Start Program. The tour will culminate in two low-cost public performances on Sunday, November 18 on the Globe’s Lowell Davies Festival Theatre stage.

To become familiarized with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, each Community Partner organization is offered a Bard Basics workshop, designed to enhance the understanding and enjoyment of Shakespeare’s work. Professional Globe Teaching Artists Kendrick Dial, Gerardo Flores, Lisel Gorell-Getz, Kimberly King, Erika Phillips, James Pillar, Tara Ricasa, and Valeria Vega will introduce participants to Shakespeare, his work, and the common themes and ideas of the play. These artists also begin each performance with an introductory pre-show warmup and end them with a casual talk-back.

Globe for All presents free professional theatre to diverse, multigenerational audiences in locations around San Diego County, with a cast of nine professional actors and nine production staff members. Over the past four years, Globe for All has continued to extend its reach, performing in military bases, homeless shelters, senior and correctional facilities, recreation centers, libraries, and other community venues. It has made theatre matter to more than 7,200 audience members, many of whom, for whatever reason, do not enjoy regular access to the professional performing arts. With production values scaled to non-theatrical venues such as gymnasiums, cafeterias, and multipurpose rooms, the tour gives audiences an intimate, up-close, and visceral experience of live performance and fosters a shared sense of community between performer and spectator.

The tour culminates with two low-cost public performances on the Globe’s Lowell Davies Festival Theatre stage on Sunday, November 18 at 12:00 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. These tickets are $10.00 for subscribers and donors, on sale Friday, October 12 at 12:00 noon; and $15.00 for the general public, on sale Friday, November 2 at 12:00 noon; subject to availability.

Globe for All is supported in part through lead gifts from Elaine and Dave Darwin, Silvija and Brian Devine, and Theatre Forward, with additional support from Maggie Acosta and Larry Shushan, Ann Davies Fund for Teaching Artists, Stuart Foreman, The James Irvine Foundation, Holmlund Family Fund at the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation, The Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation, Sanderson Family Foundation, Torrey Pines Bank, Michael T. Turner and Suzanne Poet Turner in loving memory of James Whitfield Poet, The City of Chula Vista Performing and Visual Arts Grant, the County of San Diego, and Viasat. Financial support for The Old Globe is provided by The City of San Diego.

Organizations interested in partnering with Globe for All in the future should contact Karen Ann Daniels, Associate Director of Arts Engagement, at kdaniels@TheOldGlobe.org or (619) 231-1941 x2105.

LOCATION and PARKING INFORMATION: The Old Globe is located in San Diego’s Balboa Park at 1363 Old Globe Way. There are numerous free parking lots available throughout the park. Guests may also be dropped off in front of the Mingei International Museum. For additional parking information visit www.BalboaPark.org. For directions and up-to-date information, please visit www.theoldglobe.org/plan-your-visit/directions–parking/detailed-directions.

PLEASE NOTE: To look up online or GPS directions to The Old Globe, please do not use the Delivery Address above. There is only a 10-minute zone at that physical address. For GPS users, please click here for the map coordinates, and here for written directions to The Old Globe and nearby parking in Balboa Park.

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the country’s leading professional regional theatres and has stood as San Diego’s flagship arts institution for over 80 years. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Managing Director Timothy J. Shields, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 15 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages: the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the 600-seat Old Globe Theatre and the 250-seat Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, both part of The Old Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, and the 605-seat outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, home of its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theatre’s artistic and arts engagement programs. Numerous world premieres such as the 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Meteor Shower, Bright Star, Allegiance, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and the annual holiday musical Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.